My Top 5 Tourist Attractions to Visit in the World

The world is filled with great sites and places to go to. From ancient historical places like the pyramids in Egypt to the great modern beauties like the Eiffel tower in France. As long as you love travelling and seeing the world, you will always be spoilt with choices, from Africa, to South America and down also to the North there is a lot to see. Europe, Asia, Australia are also not left out from the both man-made and nature-made beauties. I am going to give you my 5 best tourist attractions that you should consider visiting.

1. The Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx, Egypt

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These are my top picks anytime any day. The great pyramids of Egypt is the sole survivor of the seven wonders of the ancient world and so is one of the oldest structure in the world. It was built more than 2000 years ago by over a hundred thousand workers, Every year about 14.7million people visits the pyramids and anybody that visits the pyramids stands in awe and wonders at the magnificent work that was done without the use of our present day technology. I will skip talking about the details of the pyramids here, because when you get there, the tour guides will tell you all you need to know.

Seeing the pyramids can give you enough satisfaction that could last a lifetime, however, there are other side attractions for you that will make your vacation more fulfilling. There is the camel and horse rides at the pyramids, and watching the sun set on the pyramids from the surrounding desert is a thrilling sight that you should not plan to miss. With 50 Egyptian pounds, you can get a 30mins ride on a camel. The sound and light show holds at the pyramids of Giza every evening and you will see the monuments lit up at night while enjoying sounds from the Sphinx. You can find out more about the Pyramids sound and light shows here. There are full and half day tours with Egyptologist as tour guides, to tell you all you need to know about the stories behind the Pyramids. You can find all you need to know about the tours here

Where to stay to give you the best experience of these grand structures should be the least of your problems. Just within eye views of the pyramids are hotels and resorts for tourist, from luxury to mid-range to budget hotels , that you can stay in for as low as $40 to $300 a night Check out about hotels on Trip Advisor

Tickets to enter the interior of the great pyramid are sold two times a day, first at 8am and then at 1am. These tickets are limited and on a first come, first get basis, and so the earlier you get there the better. Its also better to be there early so that you can survive the desert heat and the surging crowd that gets worse with time.

2. The Eiffel Tower, France

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If the Pyramids are ancient wonder, the Eiffel tower is a wonder of our time. I visited the Eiffel tower in 2012 and that was an experience I will never forget. You are going to meet people from every part of the world at the foot of the tower, waiting for their journey to the top of the Eiffel. The tower was constructed from 1887-1889 and is now the cultural icon of France, and one of the most visited monument on earth. An estimated 6.8 million visitors comes to the Eiffel tower each year . The are three different floors for visitors, the first and second floor has restaurants. The restaurants are pretty expensive and to get lunch could cost you $75-$200. The higher you go the more expensive it is. You can use the steps to get to the first and second levels, but going to the third level will be by lift and the cost of tickets can be found and bought here. While being around the Eiffel tower is an experience worth having, wait on till you get to the top of the tower and see the city of Paris in all its glory and grandeur. This is an experience worth having.

One of the advantages of going to Paris to see the tower is that you can kill more than a hundred birds with one stone because Paris has a lot to offer tourists. The louvre museum is just by the corner in Paris, where you can also see the Mona Lisa painting and other wonderful art work.

3. The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy

The famous Italian scientist Galileo carried out his now famous experiment on mass from the tower of Pisa, when he dropped the two balls of different mass from the tower is on number three. Built in the early 12 century, due to an unstable foundation the building settled on completion with a 4 degree tilt and has remain so ever since. the building which is a bell tower of the cathedral of Pisa, is the oldest structure in the city and now a tourist attraction that receives about 5 million visitors per year. Just like the Eiffel tower, climbing to the top of this tower is a wonderful experience and you will get to see the beautiful medieval city of Pisa from a height. To climb the lean tower, you need to buy tickets, buying the tickets on site is cheaper than booking a reservation online. However, there are limited tickets each day and so it is advisable to book a reservation online, or else you might miss out on climbing the tower and will need to come back to try the next day. And who will travel to Pisa and not climb the tower? I am going to put a link here for information about hotels, bus rides, tickets when you are in Pisa.

4. The Statue of Liberty, USA

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When migrants came to the US on ships in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s and arrive at the Ellis Island, As they look out to their new home, one sight that cant be missed is the Statue of liberty standing tall on Liberty island. The Statue was given to the Americans by the French as a gift, and today it is one of the most iconic symbol in the world and a cultural icon for the Americans. When you talk about the Statue of Liberty, you talk about the United States of America. The statue receives about 10,000 visitors per day and the things you can do during your visit includes, tour the grounds, visit the statues pedestal and crown, However, visit to the crown and pedestal will be with advance tickets. You can also go the the statue’s museum that is just around the corner, the museum holds the original torch of the statue and also other unique artefacts. Information on reservations, tickets, fees are here. To avoid the long queue, it is advisable to make your reservation online. One of the advantages of going to New York to see the Statue of Liberty, is that you can kill two birds with one stone. Other tourist attractions in New York includes The Metropolitan museum of Art, Central Park, Empire state building, National September 11 memorial and museum, The Ellis island immigration museum etc. So you see you will be spoilt of choices if you decide to go to New York to see the Statue of Liberty.

5. Taj Mahal, India

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In 2007, the Taj Mahal was declared as one of winners of the 7 wonders of the new world by amassing 100 million votes. This magnificent mausoleum was built in 17 century by the Emperor Shah Jahan as a tomb for his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal. Contained in the Taj is also the burial place of the Shah, a mosque and a guest house. The Taj is surrounded by gardens and a crenelated wall on three sides. It is a UNESCO world heritage site and every year this edifice receives about 7-8 million visitors. The best time to visit the Taj Mahal are the cooler months of October, November and February . The centre of attraction at the Taj Mahal is the tomb of the Shah and his wife, so be sure to have a glimpse of this beauty. Entrance fee to the complex is approximately $15, and to control overcrowding, if you stay beyond 3 hours, you will be fined. The Taj Mahal is opened everyday of the year from 6am to 7pm, except Fridays when the mosque is used for prayers and on Ramadan. I am also going to include here information on tickets, hotels, tour guides to make your trip easier.

Conclusion

The world is full of wonderful places and sites to visit, and it was a hard decision to leave out Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil, The Great Wall of China, Disneyland USA, Buckingham palace, UK, Sydney Opera house, Australia, The Colosseum, Italy, Stonehenge, UK etc. However, these are my top five and I hope you find this blog post useful when making the trip to anyone of them. Thanks for reading to the end.